Tennessee coach Cuonzo Martin urges his team on during the second half of an NCAA college basketball game against Kentucky at Rupp Arena in Lexington, Ky., Tuesday, Jan. 15, 2013. Kentucky defeated Tennessee 75-65. (AP Photo/James Crisp)

Tennessee has traveled to Georgetown and Virginia during its
non-conference slate and has visited Alabama and Kentucky since SEC play began.

The Volunteers walked off the floor at each of those schools with
the same thing---a loss.

They'll look for a win away from Knoxville when they head to
Oxford, Miss. to take on Ole Miss at C.M. "Tad" Smith Coliseum.

""I
think there were spurts in (those games), especially late, where you give
yourself a chance to win and there is a turnover, a missed assignment, a missed
box-out and they make a play," Tennessee coach Cuonzo Martin said. "That's what
happens when you're at home; those teams find ways to win games. We've put
ourselves in position, now we have to close it out."

Ole
Miss is one of the hottest teams in all of college basketball, heading into the
matchup.

Invigorated
by junior guards Marshall Henderson, a transfer from South Plains College
(Texas), last year's JUCO national champions, the Rebels are 15-2 and
undefeated at 4-0 in the SEC. Henderson leads the conference in scoring,
averaging 18.9 points per game.

Senior
forward Murphy Holloway is averaging a double-double at 15.8 points and 10.6
rebounds, per game a figure that's tops in the conference. Reginald Buckner is
averaging 10.4 points and 8.1 rebounds while former LeFlore standout Nick
Williams is going for 10.3 points a night. They also can fill it up, averaging
82.4 points per game, a number that's good enough for third in the nation.

The
Rebels have won seven in a row and is ranked No. 23 in the most recent
Associated Press poll.

"They're
definitely a real tough team this year," Vols sophomore Josh Richardson said
Tuesday. "Henderson was a great addition to their team. And with (Jarvis)
Summers running their team - he's got a great assist-to-turnover ratio - it
will be a tough game."

Tennessee
(9-7, 1-3) started 0-3 in SEC play and picked up its first league win against
Mississippi State at home this past Sat league win against Mississippi State at
home this past Saturday.

The
Rebels handed the Vols a 92-74 defeat when the two teams met back on January 9th.

Henderson
torched Tennessee for a season-high 32 points on 8-for-19 shooting from the field
while going 13-for-14 from the line. Tennessee's Jordan McRae had 26 and
Jarnell Stokes added 15.

McRae
is leading the team with 13.8 points a night while Stokes is averaging 11.2 to
go along with 7.8 rebounds. Trae Golden is also in double-figures with 10.8
points a game.

"You
keep putting yourself in position to win, so now it's just a matter of learning
from (the previous road losses) and getting yourself over the hump," Martin
said. "(It's about) learning what happened, getting that key stop and
communication. Five guys depending on each other to get those key stops and
carrying out those key assignments."

Tennessee
hosts Alabama and Ole Miss travels to Auburn Saturday.

Nick Birdsong covers HBCU sports and SEC men's basketball
for al.com. He can be reached at 205-325-2327 or nbirdsong@al.com. Follow him on Twitter
@birds_word.